


The Potts Girls

by akasharpiegirl



Series: The Potts Girls [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: ADD/ADHD Tony Stark, Absent Parent, Absentee father, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Bisexual Female Character(s), Boarding School, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Future Pepper Potts/Tony Stark - Freeform, Gen, Genius Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Inspired by Gilmore Girls, Lesbian Character(s), Morgan Stark Needs a Hug (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Morgan Stark has ADHD, Morgan Stark-centric (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Past Relationship(s), Pepper Potts Feels, Single Mom Pepper Potts, Specifically the pilot, Taylor Swift References, Teen Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Teen Pregnancy, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is a high school teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-26 10:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30104361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akasharpiegirl/pseuds/akasharpiegirl
Summary: When Morgan Potts, the daughter of single mother Pepper Potts, gets accepted into the prestigious Woodvale Academy to attend high school, their lives slowly begin to change. For worse or for better? Read to find out.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Happy Hogan & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Happy Hogan & Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Maria Hill & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Maria Hill & Natasha Romanov, Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Original Character(s), Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Thor, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Pepper Potts & Natasha Romanov, Pepper Potts & Thor, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Thor
Series: The Potts Girls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2215173
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	1. 1.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for showing interest in The Potts Girls series! I’m really proud of what I have written so far and I am very excited for you all to read it. 
> 
> TW / CW for language, mention of food, absentee parents, and probably much more. They will be added as each chapter progresses, but if I miss any upon each update, please let me know. I will add them in the notes tab ASAP.

**[06.02.17**

**4:28 PM]**

**Morgan:**

“Moooom!” Morgan yells from across the room with an enveloped piece of mail in her hands as she closes the front door. She sees the school bus drive away from her cul-de-sac just before she turns around and haphazardly drops her backpack on the couch. 

Pepper doesn’t come out of the office or laundry room or down the stairs from her room.

“I’m home!” Morgan calls again. “Got the mail on the way in. Something from Woodvale Academy came today!”

No answer.

Morgan tilts her head in confusion before grabbing an oats and honey granola bar from the tiny container on the kitchen island with her free hand… the red and gold envelope still held tight in her right hand. She unwraps the granola bar as she walks down the hallway. 

Before she pushes open the office door with her left hand, she tilts her head back to readjust her glasses, and takes a bite of the bar. Mom’s not there. 

Morgan continues to walk down the hallway just a bit and gently nudges the laundry room door open. Not there either.

She turns back around and takes the stairwell up to the second floor of their home before walking toward her mother’s bedroom, which was adjacent to her own.

Morgan takes another bite of her snack and pushes open the already cracked door. Bingo.

Her mother with the iconic tousled bright ginger hair was laying on her stomach, asleep as she hugged onto her throw pillow. A quiet and low snore came as Pepper breathed.

“Mom,” Morgan whispers. 

She doesn’t stir. 

“Mom,” Morgan repeats, just a little louder. 

A oh-so-tiny stir.

_ “Mama,” _ the fourteen-year-old says in urgency at what one would call an ‘inside voice’.

Pepper’s eyes flutter open then and she glances at her ambitious teenager. “Hello, my lovely daughter,” Pepper greets Morgan just before a yawn escapes. “How was school, hm? It’s the last day, that means it had to be at least a little alright.” She sits up and pats next to her with her left hand.

“It was okay,” she says. Morgan goes around the bed and sits next to her mother in criss-cross. “How was your day off?”

“Refreshing,” Pepper recalls. Pepper’s day off was reserved for laundry day, a day to catch up on sleep, and mother-daughter movie night. “It’s nice not feeling like a chicken with my head cut off for once. Everyone who said being someone’s P.A. would be an easy job needs to walk a mile in my shoes.”

Morgan snickers before taking a careful bite out of the granola bar. “They might be right, but it may just be the crappy man you’re working for that makes it hard.”

“At least he pays me well and gives me a three day weekend,” Pepper shrugs. “Plus he's amazingly generous with my PTO.”

“True.”

Pepper’s eyes spot the envelope. “What’s that, eh?”

“I got a packet from Woodvale…” she says quietly, lifting it up just barely for her mother to see. 

“It’s sealed,” Pepper says. “Open it!”

“But what if I didn’t get in?” Morgan squeaks.

“It’s a  _ packet.” _ Pepper raises a brow. “Packets almost always mean good news in regards to a school.”

“But they do that for everything! For the anonymity of it all,” she shrugs. 

Pepper rolls her eyes and reaches for it. “I’ll open it for you then.”

Morgan’s eyes widened and quickly snatched it back from her mother. She stammers, “N-No, no I can open it. It’s fine!” 

Pepper holds in a chortle and hums, “Mhm. Thought so.”

“Can you hold this?” Morgan asks as she holds out the half unwrapped granola. “For just a minute.”

Pepper takes the snack without another word and sits it on her nightstand.

Morgan carefully pulls the tab on the decorative bubble mailer. 

She pulls the first item closest to her out of the envelope and immediately skims the page. She mumbles incoherent statements as she goes, speeding up her reading speed with each passing sentence. “—we are pleased to offer you, Morgan H. Potts, transferable admittance to Woodvale Academy’s secondary program as an incoming freshman!” She shrieks in excitement and hugs her mother close.

“I knew you could do it,” Pepper enthuses. “I’m  _ so _ proud of you!”

“Stop it,” Morgan mumbles.

“What? I am!”

“I know, but still.” Morgan shrugs with a small smile as she sits back up. She pushes back up her glasses that had fallen down the bridge of her nose due to the hug.

“Continue reading,” Pepper says. “You applied for a scholarship, remember?”

Morgan continues to skim the page. “Hm… classes will be assigned before August begins as long as tuition has been covered—“ She skims the page just a bit more. “—roommate and dormitory assignment will be posted in my Woodvale Student Portal in early August if we complete the housing form before the end of June. If not it’ll be delayed a little bit.” She sighs. “Nothing about scholarships.”

Pepper hums before asking, “May I see the envelope?” 

“Sure,” Morgan says as she hands her Mom the red and gold envelope.

She pulls out the new student brochure and sets it on the bed. It said ‘Welcome to the Woodvale Academy family!’ in gold lettering. 

Morgan picks the brochure up and flips through it as her mother continues to look for more pieces of information. She taps her thumb against the corner of the cardstock-like paper repeatedly as she read about the student life.

“Goona,” Pepper says calmly, attempting to get her daughter’s attention. Morgan didn’t know how many attempts had been made before she snapped out of her reading. 

Morgan’s eyes widened and she looks away from the brochure.

“You have been awarded a partial scholarship of fifty percent per semester,” Pepper reads out from another paper. “Which covers room and board… along with the meal plan and various facility fees.”

“How much will we have to put forward then?”

“A little over five thousand,” Pepper recalls, there’s no sense of concern in her voice.

Morgan blinks. “T-That's a lot.” 

“I've got it covered, my sweet,” Pepper shakes her head. “Don’t you worry. That’s what the overpaying doofus boss of mine is for.”

“You know he keeps giving you raises and bonuses because he thinks you’re going to turn in your two weeks notice at any point, right?” 

“Oh, I know,” Pepper laughs. “It’s funny watching him squirm, though.”

Morgan laughs too.

“So… Celebratory dinner and movie for you getting into Woodvale,” Pepper says, holding her daughter’s hands in hers. “What are you thinking? We’ve got leftovers from the place we got takeout from the other night… and then I have stuff to make pasta with alfredo and can heat up some mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.”

“Pasta.”


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and supporting The Potts Girls series! I’m really proud of what I have written so far and I am very excited for you all to read it.
> 
> TW / CW for language, mention of food, absentee parents, and probably much more. They will be added as each chapter progresses, but if I miss any upon each update, please let me know. I will add them in the notes tab ASAP.

**[09.03.17**

**1:25 PM]**

**Morgan:**

“Are you nervous?” Pepper asks as she drives through the Woodvale Academy front gate.

“I don’t know,” Morgan says. “Erm, yeah… I guess.”

“You’ll do amazing, Morgan,” Pepper encourages as she pulls into a visitor’s parking space in front of the administrative office. “I know so.”

“Are we supposed to go talk with the headmaster first or get stuff from the front desk?” 

“Headmaster first… at least according to the email I got last week,” Pepper recalls as she puts her car in park. She twists the key out of the ignition and turns off the car.

“Did they say what room?” Morgan inquires before zoning out.

“No, but my gut says follow the crowd,” Pepper shrugs as she unbuckled her seatbelt. She grabs her purse and steps out of the car.

It’s quiet and Morgan doesn’t answer.

“You coming?”

Morgan looks over at her Mom then, “Uh, yeah. Mhm, sorry.”

There was a line to speak with the headmaster. About four families were in front of the Potts family... and thankfully each family went through the meeting generally quick-like. 

An older man with short light brown hair steps out of the headmaster’s office with a red clipboard in his hands before speaking up, “Are Morgan Potts and her mother Virginia here?”

Pepper quickly raises her hand and stands up from the unbelievably uncomfortable brown bench just outside of the headmaster’s office. “Yes sir, that’s us.”

“You’re up,” is all the man says. 

Morgan follows Pepper, who follows the man inside the room. 

The headmaster looked tall (at least it seemed so—he was sitting down) and had dusty blond hair and along with blue eyes and fresh stubble. He definitely seemed like he could command a room, compared to the person who brought Morgan and Pepper into his office. 

“I wish you the greatest of afternoons, Ms. Virginia and Miss Morgan,” the headmaster is the first to speak as he gets up from his desk. He had a booming Australian accent. 

Morgan glances at the nameplate on his desk and raises a brow. _His name is Thor… Thor Odinson? Like the myth?_ Morgan looks around at his office room and spots (hopefully) a replica of the hammer atop the filing cabinet. 

He shakes her mother’s hand then. “My name is Thor Odinson, which I am sure you probably already know from the electronic letter my assistant Phil sent off last week amongst other very important details. How was the journey? Your file says you live about forty minutes from this here establishment of learning.”

“It was fine, thank you,” Pepper nods as she lets go of his hand. “It’s nice to meet you finally. In person.”

“Hi,” Morgan mumbles. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Odinson.”

“Oh, you’re a shy one, huh?” he inquires.

“Sorry,” Morgan says.

“That shyness will rub right off, I’m sure of it,” Thor says. “I’ll give it two weeks.”

A few minutes pass of chatter before Thor speaks up again, “Morgan, why don’t you go on and sign in at the front? Come back up when you’re done, I need to discuss some things with your mother.”

“Y-Yes, sir,” Morgan nods before shooting an unsure glance at her mother.

Pepper pulls her keys out of her purse and holds them out for Morgan. “If they give you anything to hold, just sit them in my car until I can help you move in.”

morgan nods before taking the keys and walking out of the room. 

She grazes her hand on the handrail as she walks down the old-timey stairwell for two floors until she gets to the first. Morgan veers away from a group of younger kids and makes it to the administration’s front desk. 

“Hi, I, um… I’m Morgan Potts, Mr. Odinson sent me down to get orientation stuff or something? I-I don’t know,” Morgan stammers. 

“The last four digits of your student ID please?” the woman asks.

“2… um, 1-9-0,” Morgan recalls. “Yeah. 2-1-9-0.”

The woman searches something into the computer before speaking again. “Oh, a new student, are you? Welcome. Do you think you could stand on the blue X on the floor so I may take your student ID keycard photo?”

“Yes ma’am,” Morgan nods before looking down to find the X and stands on it.

“You can smile, you know,” she says. “Looks like you lost your last friend.”

Morgan smiles. 

When the picture is completed, the woman presses a button on the computer. “Your ID will take a moment to print.” She then walks away for a second and goes through a hallway into another room, leaving Morgan feeling alone in a sea of unknown. 

It’s about five minutes later when the woman comes back. She is holding two brown paper gift bags with the Woodvale logo on them. She sits them on the desk. “First bag has the uniforms in which you ordered. You can wear all with or without the jacket and with whatever shoes and hair accessories you see fit, but everything else must stay the same as described on the order form. You may wear casual clothing after class on Mondays through Thursdays, if you wish. You can participate in casual Fridays and weekends if you so choose, but you must obey the put in place dress code for said days… skirts, shorts, and dresses must not be shorter than fingertip length unless you wear leggings or tights underneath. If you wear ripped jeans, rips cannot be above the knee unless you are wearing leggings or tights underneath. No showing shoulders. No unclothed midriff should be seen. No obscene, political, or rude remarks and imagery on your clothing. You are in the ballet physical education track, so you must obey the class’ dress code given by your instructor on days you attend her classes. Understand?” 

“Yes ma’am,” Morgan nods.

“The last two things in the bag is your Woodvale physical education duffel bag and your baton case. They are used to hold stuff like your dance shoes, twirling baton, exercise clothes, and anything else you see fit that should find a home there.”

Morgan nods again in understanding.

“The second bag contains your school issued planner, which not only contains a monthly and weekly planner but also the school rules, student code of conduct, schedules for various facilities such as the gym and dining hall, a detailed map of our campus, some important dates, and our mission statement. The next thing you’ll find is your school issued laptop which you will use to complete any assignments that require online work,” she continues to explain. “It also contains physical print outs of the map, your schedule, and other important bits of information to get you through the first few weeks that you can either put on your cork board in your dorm or slip in your backpack for easy access.”

Morgan nods.

“If you do not know already, you are in the girl’s dormitory called Ambrose Hall. You are rooming with a sophomore named Taylor Banner in room 328. She goes by her middle name, Sofia. Your dorm parent, or resident assistant, is Maria Hill and resides in room 301. You will go to her before going to anyone else if you require any assistance. If you desire to go home for the weekend or will be out anytime during the week, you must let her know of said plans. Of course, there are to be no members of the opposite sex in your dorm room. No exceptions,” the woman says. “Lights out at midnight on weeknights, by one AM on weekends. You may stay up and keep a lamp on afterwards if you desire to study or do anything else… even though you are not suggested to stay up too late, but the main lights must be off by required time if you desire to stay up later. Lastly, you will find your newly printed keycard which gets you in your dorm hall, your room, the dining hall, the gymnasium, and pretty much any building you have been granted access to enter. Do you have any other questions?”

“I can’t think of anything, no,” Morgan shakes her head. 

“If you think of anything, bring it to Maria,” she says.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Welcome to Woodvale, Miss Potts,” she says. 

“Thank you,” Morgan nods before she picks up the bags and walks outside to put them in her Mom’s car. 

A couple minutes pass when she knocks on the headmaster’s office door before Phil opens the door for her. 

“Your Mother and I still have some things to discuss,” Thor greets Morgan upon her return. “Coulson, do you mind doing the intake interview with Miss Potts for me?”

_Coulson? I thought his name was Phil._

Phil takes Morgan into the other room and she sits down across from his desk.

“From what I can tell you’re a great student, Miss Potts. You had a four-point-oh GPA at your last school… honors classes under your belt. That’s impressive. Took the PSAT 8/9 at 13 and got a perfect 1520? Your testing scores are unbelievable, 99th percentile!” he says. “Are you planning to take the PSAT 10 when you’re a sophomore?”

“Thank you,” Morgan smiles weakly. “I think so, um, yes. I need to take that in order to take the SAT and Mom wants me to take the SAT and ACT for good measure once I’m a… once I’m a junior…”

Phil writes something down—probably about testing—before speaking again. “So you are obviously a quite bright girl. What brings you here specifically though?”

Morgan raises a brow.

“What do you want to do with your life?”

“Oh,” Morgan says. “I want to go to MIT… wanted to ever since I can really remember.”

Phil raises his brow this time, “Hm, MIT. Really?”

She nods.

He writes down something again before looking up at her and asking, “For what?”

“Engineering,” Morgan says. “I know that’s vague, but I don’t know what specific type of engineering I’m set on yet. I just know I like robotics and engineering. MIT’s the place to go if you want to get far with that.”

Phil nods. “Well, your A-shift second block and C-shift eighth block teacher graduated summa cum laude at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. Maybe you could bring it up to him after his class one day and talk to him about it? It’s possible he might’ve been a little cautious about his decision at first… might have some advice.”

“Maybe, yeah,” she agrees. 

———

“You must be Sofia,” Morgan introduces herself to her roommate once she steps inside the room, to find an already all-moved-in girl on one side of the space. There were two desks separating each two sides. Morgan sets down two large bags on the empty bed on her side of the room. 

“That I am,” Sofia says as she gets up from her bed and walks around the desk barricade. Pepper walks in and sets down the two bags she carried inside. “Morgan, right?”

“Mhm,” Morgan says. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“To you as well.” Sofia smiles before looking over at Pepper. “Is this your mother?”

“Yep,” Morgan confirms. 

“My name’s Virginia, it is very nice to meet you,” Pepper greets. “The headmaster said you’re the daughter of one of the teachers here?”

“Yes, the name is Taylor Sofia Banner, but I go by Sofia, Sof, or Sofie, and my Dad’s the chemistry and biology teacher and also head of the high school science department. Bruce Banner.”

“Are you taking chemistry or bio this year?” Pepper asks.

“No… um, physical science I think,” Morgan says. 

———

**Tony:**

“Do you have your final pre-drop/add schedule yet?” Bruce asks as he walks out of the high school academics building with Tony following loosely behind. The double doors swing to a close as they leave said doors in the figurative dust. “I usually have it by now.”

Tony raises a brow before speaking, “Now that you mention it, I haven’t. Wonder what’s the—“

A voice across the quad catches him off guard. He recognizes it from somewhere but can’t place why. His vision shifts from Bruce to where he heard the noise—not that he realized it until he saw. He saw a young girl—probably a new student—with dark brown hair and bangs hugging onto her guardian. They were standing in front of the Ambrose dormitory. The girl was wearing black browline glasses that were half slid down the bridge of her nose. He couldn’t get a good look at the mother because she wasn’t facing him. But she had bright ginger hair and a tall stature… she reminded him of his ex, even from afar. Tony wasn’t sure, but he thought the younger girl had said something like ‘I love you too, Mama.’

“—hold up,” he finishes before shaking off the distraction and looking back at Bruce. “I’ll be completely lost in the morning if it’s still not there in my inbox.”

“What's wrong?”

“N-Nothing. Just thought I heard something,” he shakes his head and scrunches his face up. He scratches his dark brown hair with his index finger for a moment. “What time does freshman orientation start again?”

“At five,” Bruce recalls. “It’s almost four.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked, please leave kudos, a comment, or share with your friends! Maybe even bookmark it for later!
> 
> Tentative upload schedule:  
> Weekly on Wednesdays between 12 and 5 PM eastern time until all chapters are completed or I finish a few ahead of schedule. Please follow my Twitter (evermorestarks) and/or tumblr (akasharpiegirl) for updates regarding weekly postings, what I like to call “behind the scenes” sneak peeks of what I’ve written, and so much more.


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone say thank you to one of my readers for encouraging me to post the third one today.
> 
> TW / CW for language, mention of food, absentee parents, and probably much more. They will be added as each chapter progresses, but if I miss any upon each update, please let me know. I will add them in the notes tab ASAP.

**[09.04.17**

**6:45 AM]**

**Morgan:**

She woke up to the dim sunlight peeking through the curtains, the freshly-unsnoozed blaring of the catchy alarm from Sofia’s phone’s alarm clock system, and her roommate rustling around their room.

She grumbles and rolls over, hiding her face in the pillow with the pink and grey case. 

“If you want breakfast you best be getting up and ready to roll,” Sofia calls over. “Starts at seven, lines fill up fast, and it’s only open for forty-five minutes.”

She mumbles an incoherent complaint before pulling herself up and standing up. “I don’t like mornings,” Morgan says as she takes her glasses out of the hard case and sets them on the bridge of her nose.

“You get used to it,” Sofia says. 

“Oh, I know.” She says as she picks up her hairbrush. She begins to brush through a knot in her hair. “It’s just been almost four months since I’ve had to get up early for  _ anything. _ I used to take the bus to school and my house was one of the first stops on the driver’s route. 5:30 pick up every single day on a big yellow bus with no seat belts.”

“Ew,” Sofia cringes. “That sucks.”

“Mhm,” Morgan hums. She glances at her schedule. “What’s your first block today?”

“World history with Mr. Rogers,” Sofia recalls. “I have the same class as you for physical science… because I took biology from my dad last year.”

“Are they sticklers for seating charts?” Morgan asks as she pulls open her closet door and takes out her school uniform. She walks into the Jack-and-Jill bathroom and leaves the door just barely cracked to change. 

“Depends on the instructor,” Sofia says as she follows her and leans against the outside of the restroom. “Usually you just pick a random seat on your first day and it’s just an unspoken rule that it’s your spot… you know, until you move to another seat by yourself and the student who sat there before you throws a fit because it’s  _ their  _ seat. But teachers themselves will rarely move you unless you become talkative with a nearby student. Other times they have you pick a number out of a hat assigned to a desk. I’ve heard Rogers and that Anthony guy are like the former. My dad’s one of the hat guys. Why?”

Morgan adjusts her white stuffy polo underneath her black vest and fixes her skirt before pulling her maroon jacket with the school logo stitched with gold thread on the top left corner over her arms and buttoning her coat. She sighs before saying, “I was wondering if we could sit together or something… you… ya know, since I’m, uh, new and don’t know anyone?” 

“I’ll save you a seat if I get there before you. You save a seat for me if you get there first. Deal?”

“Deal,” Morgan says as she slips her shoes on.

———

“Do you know where room 221 is?”, Morgan asks almost aimlessly as she walks into the second floor of the high school academics building. There's a long hallway staring back at her.

A kid stops in their tracks and says, “ The end of the hallway on your left. Closest door to the shorter water station.”

“Thank you!” Morgan yells as the kid runs down the filled stairwell. 

She swerves between the bustling crowd and next thing she knows, she’s standing at the entryway of the 221 classroom. Morgan scans around the room that was about half full with two minutes to spare before the tardy bell would go off across all of the campus. No Sofia.

She steps around a boy and a girl who were standing by the manual pencil sharpener and walks over to the middle of the second row, where two open desks sat. She sits down on the left desk seat and sets her bookbag on the remaining free seat. She unzips her bag from the seat and pulls out her school planner and a purple mechanical pencil. 

The warning bell goes off as soon as she clicks the eraser twice and barely thirty seconds later Sofia slides in her seat. 

“Rogers kept us for an extra three minutes,” she says as she slides Morgan’s backpack under the desk. “How was your first class?”

“About as normal as my old school’s first days,” Morgan shrugs. “Read over the syllabus, go through the school rules in each class, maybe a movie too… I’m guessing it’ll get more hectic as the days drag on?” She pulls the black hair tie off her wrist and quickly throws her hair up in a ponytail. 

“You guessed right,” Sofia snickers as she pulls her things out of her own backpack.

A moment later the late bell rings and Morgan hears the large brown door shut right after. The teacher who was dressed in a nice suit, had dark brown hair—just like Morgan—and borderline bangs that swept to the left side of his forehead, and a well trimmed goatee spoke up. “Welcome to my physical science class.” He peers around the room. “So this fine group of kids are the ones I have for my second block on Monday and Wednesday… last one on Friday? That’s wonderful. I haven’t spoken to many of you but from who I have, I’m sure you all will be a great class to educate this year.”

Murmurs go off for a second and after he just barely sits against the front edge of his desk, he quickly drops the pen in his hand on his desk—the subtle sound of the clash against the wood was just enough to quiet everyone. He continues, “Today we’ll go through introductions, take a trip through the syllabus, my own classroom rules, and continue reading that eyesore of ‘Woodvale-Academy-Legalese’... also known as the hoity toity  _ school rules.  _ You may ask questions at any point. Yell it out, raise your hand, I do not care.”

He stands up again and walks to the white board. He picks up a red Expo marker from the metallic edge and begins to write his name on the board with his right hand.

**Tony:**

He lifts up the marker from the poorly-cleaned whiteboard after printing his name and turns back around to face the audience of students. Tony takes in a deep inhalation before speaking, “My name is Anthony St—C-Carbonell and I have been teaching here for about four years. I was born in Long Island, New York and completed my secondary education at Phillips Academy in a  _ lovely _ little town called Andover. My alma mater is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and I have a degree in mechanical engineering from there. I worked in the engineering field in California for about six years before I had a little bit of an existential crisis and went back to school to become a certified teacher, which took about two years. Moved back over to the northeast to teach here and have been grateful for every second.” 

A kid on Sofia's right raises his hand. 

“Shoot,” Tony says as he walks back in front of his desk.

“Didn’t you use to have another last name?”

Tony’s eyes widened just before he cringes, “Uh, yep. Absolutely. I had sent in the request about ten months ago and got it confirmed about two months ago… not used to it just yet, my bad. Some of you may know me as Mr. Stark, but I respectfully ask to refrain from using said name from now on.”

“Why?”

“Because my dad and I were estranged before he kicked the bucket and I’m closer to my mother,” Tony says with no hesitation. “Should I go in any more detail?” He notices a kid two seats from that boy’s left looked confused or intrigued during his sob story. The same kid he saw yesterday in the quad. Weird. 

“No sir,” the kid says before promptly shutting up.

“Anyway, moving on,” Tony continues. “Student introductions, shall we? I need to run attendance and no one sent me my final roster sheet, so… when I call your name, enlighten me on your name again, grade or age since I know not all of you are freshmen, where you’re from, how long you’ve been at Woodvale, and tell me what you want to do with your life… if you don’t know that just yet, which I don’t know how you couldn’t—this is Woodvale Academy, everyone has their futures planned down to each breath, blink, and step, but if you don’t just yet… tell me a fun fact or something.” He looks behind him over his left shoulder and picks up his clipboard. “Adams, Courtney?”

The A names go through rather quickly. 

“Banner, Taylor? You’re up, kid,” Tony says.

“So, I’m Taylor Banner, but I go by Sofia... as you know… I’m a sophomore. I’m originally from here, actually… or at least I’ve been told. I was adopted. I have lived in Waterbury since I can remember, though, because my Dad had gotten a job here. I got into Woodvale in seventh grade and have loved every single minute of it,” Sofia explains. “Oh, and I think I want to go to Harvard… like my dad did. Looking into biomedical engineering, neuroscience, or something in psychology. I really just want to help people, you know?”

Tony marks with a check mark next to her name and speaks up, “That’s a wonderful plan you’ve got there, even if it’s not one hundred percent fixed yet.” He looks at the next name. “Callaghan, Aurora?”

No answer.

“There an Aurora Callaghan here?”

A kid near the back raises their hand before speaking, “That’s my sister. She got moved to your B shift days. I’m August.”

“Oh,” Tony says before marking an ‘x’ by the kid’s name. “Thank you for the heads up, August. You’re next on the list too.”

August introduces himself, “Hi. Well, I’m August… you know that already. Why’d I say that? I don’t know. I am a fifteen year old sophomore and have been attending here since eighth grade. I was born in Temecula, California and moved around here when I was ten with my sister and our parents. I want to attend somewhere that offers a good astrophysics program someday.” 

“I’ve heard Harvard has a good one,” Tony recalls as he looks for the next name. 

The introductions drag on again. He reads the next name. Potts, Morgan.  _ Potts? Pepper? Pepper Potts? Morgan. Wait. Morgan! Wasn’t Morgan the name we picked—no. It can’t be. They’re in Massachusetts… not here. Not possible. Right? Hell, I don’t know. Probably not. My luck.  _

He looks up with wide eyes before spitting out, “Potts, uh… M-Morgan? You here?”

A girl, the same one from yesterday practically jumps in her seat before speaking up, “O-oh yeah… um, that’s me. I’m a fourteen year old freshman and this is my first year here. Apparently I’m originally from Massachusetts, but my Mom and I moved down here when I was too little to remember… to somewhere about forty minutes from here in a small-ish town.”

_ Fourteen. Massachusetts. Only mention of a mother.  _ Tony doesn’t realize he reacts.  _ “Massachusetts?” _

“Yeah… around Boston,” Morgan says. “I was born not very far from Boston. Stoneham, I-I think.”

“It’s a lovely place,” he says, voice taut.  _ Wow, Even Stoneham is right.  _ “What’s your plan, kid? You got one?”

“Um, MIT, a-actually. My mom’s friend went there and he tells me all sorts of stories… I really want to go there,” she says. “I don’t know what specifically yet, but definitely some type of engineering.” 

He nods. “Well I hope Woodvale can help you get there. From what I can see next to your name, your grades are well within range. You seem like a bright kid,  _ Miss Potts.”  _

———

**Morgan:**

Morgan pulls out her phone as soon as her last class ends and calls her Mom as she exits the front double doors. She walks across the quad and opens the door with her keycard before Pepper answers. 

Pepper’s the first to speak: “Hi, honey! How’s my girl? Do you want to tell me about your first day?”

“Hey, Mama! I’m okay… my classes are good,” Morgan says as she walks upstairs and into her dormitory hallway. “My dance teacher is really cool and my science teacher thinks I can make it to MIT if I keep my grades up.”

“He's right, ya know,” Pepper enthuses. “You’re such a smart kid, practically a shoo-in.” 

Morgan lets out a short-lived embarrassed laugh as she swipes her keycard on her room door and steps inside. She gently lays her backpack on the floor.

“What? It’s true,” Pepper says.

“No,” Morgan disagrees as she closes her door and lies down on her bed. 

“Nonsense!” Pepper exclaims. “So tell me about everything else. Food, the people, I don’t know! God, I miss you, kiddo.”

“I miss you too, Mama. And well, breakfast was good! I had pancakes with blueberry syrup and sausage… orange juice too. It was not as good as your weekend breakfast specialty though,” Morgan recalls. “And lunch was good too. Got a veggie grinder and then salt and vinegar chips—“

“How on earth do you find salt and vinegar chips nice?” Pepper snickers. 

“I like to see the world burn, Mom,” Morgan teases. 

“You're just like your Dad. Taste in food, music, humor…”

Morgan goes quiet.  _ Dad? Mom never talks about Dad? ...literally not once. Not on her own at least. He abandoned me, or at least that’s what I’ve concluded as to why she won’t talk about him… he didn’t want us. He didn’t want me.  _ Morgan takes a deep breath in before spitting out, “My Dad? H-How so?”

“I was just thinking about him today… not sure why,” Pepper says oh-so-casually. Her tone then quickly turns sour: “I’m sorry I brought him up. It’s nothing, Goona. I’ve still got a few before the boss man inevitably gives me a new dry cleaning order… give me the reader’s digest version about everything else.”

“My dorm parent is really nice! She brought welcome packages for me and Sofia… she got me the limited edition box set of the book series I like! You know, the one with the black covers? I think I’m going to start re-reading it once I get the hang of my schedule and all! Maria got Sofia a vinyl record... Apparently she already has it so it’s hung up above her bed now. Along with the big gift she gave us a first aid kit, our favorite snacks, movies on DVD… kinda like a survival kit, you know? I put the first aid kit in my dance bag,” Morgan explains. “She also came by during my dance class for something and she so obviously has a thing for Miss Romanoff. I don’t think she realizes how obvious it is. They’re adorable!”

“Aw, well I am so glad you like your dorm parent,” Pepper enthuses. “I’ve gotta get going. If you want to chat after you get dinner, I might be able to… just shoot me a text. Love you, kiddo.”

“Love you, too,” Morgan says before hanging up. 

Sofia walks in the room a moment later. It’s mutually quiet until she emerges from their bathroom in casual clothes and her uniform draped over her arm. “You want to come hang with me at the student center? Some of my other friends will be there, I can introduce you.” 

———

After changing into jeans and a black pullover, Morgan and Sofia go to the Woodvale Student Center.

“So this is the girl Mr. Stark freaked out about during class today,” the boy, who Morgan recognized as August by the voice, greets. 

“Who?” Morgan says as she sits down. “I don’t remember any Mr. Stark.”

“You know, Mr. Carbonell,” Sofia corrects. “His ex shares your last name.”

“His ex?” 

“Mhm,” the other girl in the group says. “Also I’m Aurora.”

“Nice to meet you,” Morgan greets. She looks over at Sofia, who’s sitting next to her. “Why would he be wigged out by a kid with  _ my _ last name?”

“My understanding is that they were really close,” Sofia explains. “Even venturing into possible marriage territory. But something happened against his will that forced them away and he’s not exactly  _ over  _ her. He hasn’t dated anyone since her and it’s been like fifteen years since they last saw each other in Stoneham.”

_ In Stoneham? Stoneham, Massachusetts? Fifteen years?  _ “What’s her name? Do you know?” the youngest teenager questions, there’s worry in her voice. 

“Pepper,” Sofia answers.

_ Pepper? What kind of name is that? So not Virginia. That’s good. _ “Not my mom. Her name’s Virginia and I’ve never heard anyone call her ‘Pepper’ before. Also, how do you know all this?”

“My dad is friends with him,” Sofia shrugs. “I hear a lot of conversations when he comes over to our house.”

“Oh.” Morgan nods.

It’s quiet for a minute or two.

“Have you told her about the theory?” Aurora asks.

“What theory?” Morgan asks.

“About Coulson,” Aurora clarifies.

“What about Coulson?” 

“That he works for some government agency,” Sofia explains through a snicker.

“Why would he work for a  _ government  _ agency?” she questions with a stifle.

“He’s just so different from Headmaster Odinson.” August shrugs. “Like  _ really  _ different. He seems far too stuffy to work at a school.”

“Ah,” Morgan nods. “Funny.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked, please leave kudos, a comment, or share with your friends! Maybe even bookmark it for later! 
> 
> Tentative upload schedule:  
> Weekly on Wednesdays between 12 and 5 PM eastern time until all chapters are completed or I finish a few ahead of schedule. Please follow my Twitter (evermorestarks) and/or tumblr (akasharpiegirl) for updates regarding weekly postings.


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